44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 13, 2024 10:00AM
- Feb/13/24 10:04:43 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to table a few petitions today.
The first one is in regard to the Liberal government's firearms buyback program. The Liberal government's plan to confiscate legally acquired firearms from law-abiding firearm owners and from retailers will do nothing to reduce the crime in Canada.
These petitioners are calling on the Liberal government to cancel its plan to enforce a costly and ineffective firearms buyback program, and instead, to set its sights on common-sense polices that will keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals.
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- Feb/13/24 10:05:18 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the next petition I am presenting is on public prayer in the Canadian Armed Forces. The recent directive issued to military chaplains banning religious symbols and public prayer at ceremonies like Remembrance Day actually undermines our religious freedoms, and one of the very values, ironically, that our men and women in uniform have fought to defend.
The petitioners are calling on the House of Commons to affirm the right of public prayer in our Canadian Armed Forces.
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Mr. Speaker, I rise to table my last petition regarding Bill C-318. We know that adoptive and intended parents in our country are at a disadvantage under the current EI system, and all parents deserve equal access to parental leave benefits. Bill C-318 delivers equitable access to parental leave for adoptive and intended parents.
The undersigned of this petition, the residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to support adoptive and intended parents by providing a royal recommendation for Bill C-318.
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- Feb/13/24 10:09:45 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, here we are once again, seeing the Liberals enforce time allocation. I wonder, through you, why it is that the Liberals are so terrible at managing legislation to put forward the House calendar. At the end of the day, they are the ones deciding what the calendar is and what their priorities are, and it seems like it is at the eleventh hour, every single time. Here we are, once again, with them trying to invoke closure.
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Madam Speaker, the decisions made in this place have a direct impact on the lives of Canadians. That impact can be no greater than when it is a matter of life or death, and this is exactly the case with this piece of legislation. As members of Parliament, we have a duty to serve in the best interests of Canadians; this duty must extend to the protection of the most vulnerable in society.
I should note that I will be splitting my time with the member for Portage—Lisgar.
The expansion of medically assisted death to those suffering from mental illness is dangerous and, simply, reckless. It is inevitable that the expansion of MAID to those suffering solely from a mental illness would result in the deaths of Canadians who could have gotten better. This is not to say that those with mental illness should be left alone to suffer. Recovery is possible, and we cannot give up on these individuals and their loved ones. Canadians suffering from mental illness need and deserve support and treatment. They may feel that their situation is hopeless, but the antidote is hope, not death. They deserve government policy and a health care system that are compassionate and responsive to their needs. Where there are gaps or shortfalls in our care system, we should prioritize working alongside our provincial partners to address them. That, not expanding MAID, should be the priority.
The Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying heard loud and clear from the mental health experts and advocates that the planned expansion of MAID was dangerous. The current Liberal government has already had to introduce eleventh-hour legislation to delay the expansion of MAID by one year from the date that it had arbitrarily set. We find ourselves, ironically, now in the same position as we were in last year. Bill C-62, once again, would only offer a temporary delay in the expansion of MAID to persons suffering from mental illness. The risks and dangers that exist today would continue to exist in three years. However, the Liberal government is intent on its expansion.
It is truly frightening to see that the Liberal government wants to continue to expand the access to MAID, despite clear concerns about safeguards of vulnerable people. The Liberals' careless approach was already evident when the Liberal government decided not to appeal the Truchon ruling and, instead, introduced legislation that went much further than the ruling had required.
What we have seen repeatedly from the current Liberal government is the willingness to offer MAID to more and more Canadians, without prioritizing supports or treatment. This continues to be the case with those in the end stages of life. Through pain management and psychological, emotional and practical supports, palliative and hospice care provides relief from pain, stress and symptoms of serious illness. Palliative care has proven to improve the quality of life not only for the patient but also for their family. However, access to this is not universal here in Canada.
The government's own report on the state of palliative care in Canada, released this past December, confirms that access to palliative care is indeed not universal. We do not have the necessary safeguards in place to protect vulnerable Canadians when access to MAID is more universal than access to palliative care is. When Canadians suffering from serious illness do not have access to appropriate care, they can be left feeling hopeless. Personal autonomy is not increased when a person feels as though they have no other choice.
When the current Liberal government removed the “reasonably foreseeable death” clause from the MAID framework, it opened up to persons with disabilities who are not close to death. Disability advocates raised alarm bells with this decision, and the news stories that have emerged in recent years have underscored the risks and the danger in that decision. Reports showing that poverty, not pain, is driving Canadians with disabilities to consider assisted death are truly heartbreaking.
For persons with disabilities, the pressures of the cost of living crisis are compounded. Their basic living costs are generally much more significant. As the prices go up on everything, their costs are even greater. It is unacceptable that there are persons with disabilities turning to MAID because of their cost of living situation.
This NDP-Liberal government's inflationary spending and taxes are fuelling the affordability crisis in this country, and what is even more shameful is that, despite the pain and suffering it is causing Canadians, there has been no course correction for this costly coalition. It has continued to mismanage tax dollars. It is intent on quadrupling the carbon tax, which is increasing the cost of just about everything.
Let us not forget that not a single disability payment has gone out to those who want it and have been asking for it. Bill C-22 was sped through the parliamentary process, but those who are desperate for financial assistance are still waiting.
The affordability crisis is continuing to surge across the country, and it is further putting persons with disabilities in a vulnerable position. Medically assisted death should not be more readily available to persons with disabilities than the supports and accommodations they need to live a full, healthy and dignified life.
Repeated reports that Canadians are being offered medically assisted death without first requesting it is also very alarming. It suggests that safeguards have not been put in place to ensure that vulnerable people are not being pressured or coerced into seeking medically assisted death. No person should feel that the health care system, the infrastructure that is meant to provide care and support, sees no value in their lives.
There are serious concerns with the existing MAID framework and the framework's ability to protect the most vulnerable in our communities. These are concerns that are not being addressed by the Liberal government and that ultimately should be the priority of the government on an issue such as medically assisted death. When the risks and concerns that exist with the current framework are already proven to be warranted, we should certainly heed the clear warnings against its expansion.
Experts have said that it is impossible to predict in any legitimate way that mental illness is irremediable. This means that individuals suffering solely from mental illness can recover and can improve. Their mental health state is not destitute nor without hope. If medical assistance in dying is offered to persons suffering solely from mental illness, it is inevitable that vulnerable Canadians will die who could have gotten better.
Experts have also made it clear that it is difficult for clinicians to distinguish between a rational MAID request and one motivated by suicidal thoughts. Persons with mental illness are already disproportionately affected by suicide and suicidal ideation. To extend access to medically assisted death to this group of individuals contradicts and undermines suicide prevention efforts. Every single person's life has value and purpose. It is not acceptable to have government policies in place that devalue the life of a person, and the Liberal government's intention to expand access to MAID fails individuals suffering from mental illness in this country.
Whether it happens in March of this year or in three years, the expansion of MAID will still be dangerous and reckless. The delayed expansion of MAID will ultimately still fail vulnerable Canadians. Bill C-62 does not go far enough to protect those suffering with mental illness. The Prime Minister must immediately and permanently halt the expansion of medical assistance in dying to persons with mental illness. We cannot give up on an individual who is suffering. They deserve support and treatment, not death.
Common-sense Conservatives know that recovery is possible for persons suffering from mental illness. We do not support policies that abandon people when they are in their most vulnerable state. Death is not a treatment for suffering. We will stand with them and their loved ones. Above all else, when we consider medically assisted death, we must be gripped by a resolve to protect the most vulnerable because, in matters of life and death, there is simply no room for error.
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- Feb/13/24 1:19:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in my experience with social work, being in a hospital setting and having the opportunity to be with patients in the most difficult times, such as their end of life, or during palliative and hospice care, as difficult and as hard as those situations are, the opportunity for family reconciliation is amazing. The fact that we would just rob Canadians of allowing their families to reconcile is just a shame.
There are accounts of Canadians being coerced and being offered MAID when there are not proper supports, such as psychiatrists or psychologists, there to help them. It is absolutely unacceptable.
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- Feb/13/24 1:21:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I just want to mention Kathrin Mentler. She is 37 and, as described in an article, she:
lives with chronic depression and suicidality, both of which she says were exacerbated by a traumatic event early this year....
Ms. Mentler says a clinician told her there would be long waits to see a psychiatrist and that the health care system is “broken”. That was followed by a jarring question: “Have you considered MAID?”
I will listen to the Canadians who have been coerced, who have had it suggested to them that their life is devalued and that they are not wanted, and who have been offered MAID. It does happen, and I would suggest all members in the House do their research on all sides of the subject.
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- Feb/13/24 1:22:50 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I think society is going to a place where we are devaluing people. It is easier for somebody to suggest medical assistance in dying than to actually take the time to help. Sure, we can have a conversation on what the municipal and provincial roles in that are and the wraparound services. However, this comes down to treating humans with dignity and value, and giving them a hand up. It is not suggesting that their life is not really worth it, that everything is broken, and to just book them in at 2:00 p.m. on Friday to end it all. That is disgusting, and society needs to do better.
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